Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Craigslist Dresser Re-do...In Process

So a while back I found this great dresser on Craigslist. It was a perfect solution for me because my in-laws decided they wanted back the vintage library table they gave us that we had been using as a TV stand. I love the idea of all the storage this will provide for DVDs, toys and books...anyone who knows someone with kids understands the sheer amount of STUFF kids accumulate and can appreciate having some extra storage for said stuff. So, I sent my husband and dad off to the seller's house...$35 in hand for this monster. I was not prepared for how HEAVY it is! Holy smokes! I had to help my husband drag it across the garage and I could barely manage.

Anyway...here's the dresser before:


I love the faux bamboo trim!


The top drawers also have a faux basketweave panel inset. The pulls that came with it are a faux bamboo look too.



The top is a glossy laminate type finish so I sanded and sanded and sanded...

I cleaned up the drawers...


...and I primed.  The primer went on just fine with no problems. Unfortunately, when I got my paint on I wasn't so lucky:



There are several spots where the paint is bubbling like this. I don't know why it would be doing that unless there is something wrong with the paint. Why would the primer go on just fine but then the paint bubble like this unless it is the paint? Oh well, I guess I will just have to sand her back down and do it over. I'm really hoping that the rainy weather stays away long enough for me to get this done this week so I can get the behemoth in the house and I can show you how beautiful I know it can be! Does anyone have any ideas why the paint would be bubbling like this? I'm at a loss...

UPDATE: Completed project - here

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Office Re-do...In Process

So I've been putting off posting on this because I really wanted to wait until it was all done to show you the transformation but I'm realizing that things are moving more slowly than I had hoped. The office/guest room re-do is moving along, just at a turtle's pace.

I don't know why I didn't take a before pic. This room has been in bad shape since we moved in a little over a year ago. We put a coat of paint on the walls without really thinking about it, basically just to have something other than primer on the walls. I've never really been happy with the color we chose, it was leftover from the basement family room in our old house and although it looked really great in that room, it was just a little too dreary for this room. Also, this room kind of became a catch-all for stuff. We moved from a larger house into this smaller one and we are still working on getting rid of the junk.


We decided to go with Behr's Creamy White. I love this color and have used it in other places. Normally I would prefer to have some color on the walls but because these basement bedrooms don't get much light, I wanted to get my color from fabrics and accessories instead of the walls.


Here is my husband wading through all the junk to paint. Bless his heart :)


Here is a better pic to see the contrast of the two colors.



Here is the workspace he built for me. I wanted it to fit like a built in and be the whole length (10 feet) of that niche in the wall. I'm planning on skirting the desk and will paint and refinish that chair. I'm also going to fill the wall above it with shelves and a cork board. I was inspired by Britt at Gus + Lula and her long desk. If you haven't seen her blog, you MUST check her out. She's got so many great projects and such a great eye. When I first found her blog I spent hours going back through all her old posts...love her!


I was saw this fabric used in the master bedroom of Rambling Renovators and fell in love! I bought it and will be using it for the curtains in here. I've mentioned before that I've really never been a fan of blue but I really think I'm changing my tune :)

Add a DIY headboard, some new bedding, a new drum shade for the ceiling fixture and some pretty turquoise accessories and I think the room will be looking pretty good! Here's hoping I can find some time to actually work on this to get it DONE!

What are you currently working on? Have you seen Brtt's blog? Go check it out and tell me what you think!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Restoring Fiberglass

Many years ago a good friend moved and gave me this old rocking chair she had been using outside as patio furniture. I always loved the style of the chair and how comfortable it was...little did I know what a treasure it was.

The chair is in kind of rough shape and that's why I'm posting this. I've googled and tried to figure out a way to repair the fiberglass in this awesome chair but I can't get any definitive answer. My husband said to pick up a fiberglass repair kit for a boat (or something similar) but surely, he can't be right...

This is my genuine mid-century Luther Conover molded fiberglass rocking chair.


The chrome is a little rusty but I think I can take care of that.



The color is a little faded but I've seen articles about how to bring back the sheen it would have originally had.


This is the worst of it...does anyone know what I can do to fix the fiberglass on this awesome chair? I would really love for it to have a special place in my home...even though it doesn't really fit in with the style of my home, I would love to be able to restore it, I love it that much.

If you don't know, can you point me in the direction of someone who might?
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